Thousands of patients are crippling emergency services at a new £95m hospital after turning up with minor coughs and colds.

Worrying new figures reveal just over a quarter of the patients who turned up in A&E departments at one trust this winter actually needed to be admitted for emergency care.

People suffering sore throats, small cuts, and bad coughs flocked to the new Cramlington hospital - designed for seriously ill patients only - when they could have been treated by walking into their local pharmacy.

In total, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust recorded over 43,000 urgent and emergency care attendances during the first quarter of 2016 – 55% at the new Cramlington hospital and 45% at urgent care centres in Hexham, North Tyneside and Wansbeck. Only 26% required emergency hospital admission.

The trust has experienced its busiest winter on record, with 9,000 more people accessing A&E care services between January and March 2016 compared to the same period last year.

The worrying trend has prompted health leaders to call on patients to act responsibly when it comes to using NHS services and, crucially, to keep the Cramlington hospital free for those who are seriously ill or injured and who need immediate medical help.

Over the past three months, the trust has repeatedly highlighted many examples of inappropriate attendances at Cramlington, including people who turn up with minor scratches - putting additional pressure on exceptionally busy frontline teams.

Dr Chris Biggin, clinical director for emergency care at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We’d urge the public to help us by using the right service for the severity of their symptoms and acting responsibility when using the NHS.

“Our message is really quite simple – please do not attend the new hospital for any minor ailments which are not serious emergencies as our teams are very busy looking after very poorly people.

“There are many other appropriate places to seek help for minor problems including your local pharmacy where expert help is readily available with no appointment necessary.

The trust’s chief executive, David Evans, has this week thanked all staff, on behalf of the trust board, for their efforts during what he described as a “huge” and “intense” increase in demand.

Mr Evans said: “The scale of this increased and intense demand for services, not only at Northumbria but across the whole of the NHS, has been huge over the past few months and the response from our teams has been quite exceptional.

“This is also the first year of our new model of emergency care and whilst we continue to embed these changes, we must not lose sight of the many positive benefits for patient care which are already clear.”